Novomatic Cancels IPO Due To Uncertainty of German Market

Novomatic, the Australian online casino operator, has cancelled its plans for its IPO (Initial Public Offering) as a result of the regulatory change in the German market.

On the 26th of September, the online casino announced to the media that the proposed listing on the Frankfurt exchange that was scheduled for this week would no longer be taking place. This listing was expected to value Novomatic casino as a company, with more than twenty-six thousand employees that are based in 80 different countries.

Novomatic IPO Cancelation – Details

The IPO was not happy about this due to the unexpected slow implementation of the new regulations in German regarding the casino gambling halls. Novomatic has a 53% share in the German market, and they owe it all to their admiral brand. This brand boosted their presence in Germany through the acquisition of Casino Royal, a slots operator.

However, the new German Rules require the casino gambling hall to be at most 500m apart, and every hall will now be limited to only 12 EGMs (Electronic Gambling Machines). Furthermore, Novomatic mentioned that even though they expect the new rules to reduce their EGM in Germany by 30%, they also expect that the remaining machines will be used efficiently.

The acquisition of AGT (Ainsworth Game Technology) by Novomatic might also be another reason why the online casino operator postponed its IPO. This acquisition deal was sealed in February last year, and it was considered to be a primary key in expanding Novomatic’s reach into the Latin America, U.S and Australasian markets.

Overview

The online casino has approximately 2 100 gambling revenues. This includes sports betting bookmarks, online casinos, Bingo halls and Slot halls. More so, the casino operator’s EGM is significantly high as it adds to a total of about 70 700.

Novomatic has not stated when the IPO will take place yet; they only notified the media of the cancellation or postponement. Consequently, Kiwi Casinos will do all we can to keep New Zealand players updated on this issue.